Investors, regulators, donors and members increasingly ask boards to demonstrate how they are performing, not simply to confirm that governance structures exist. Yet assessments are often a tick-box review of documents, completed once a year and filed. The findings rarely change behaviour, and weak practice, such as poor information flow, dominant individuals or unclear committee roles, goes unmeasured.

This programme applies monitoring and evaluation methods to the governance field. Participants start with the principles and codes against which governance is judged, then build a logic model for an effective board and derive indicators for each dimension: composition, strategy, oversight, risk and audit, stakeholder accountability, ethics and culture. They then examine data collection methods and their strengths and limits, from questionnaires and document reviews to interviews and meeting observation.

The later sessions focus on using evidence. Participants analyse results, rate them against criteria, write recommendations and design a follow-up system that holds management and directors to account. Exercises use extracts from board packs, sample survey data and scorecards, and each participant prepares an evaluation plan and indicator set for an organisation they know well.

After completing the course, participants will be able to:

• Define board effectiveness in terms that can be observed and measured.
• Select governance indicators linked to strategy, oversight, risk and accountability.
• Design board and committee evaluation instruments, including surveys and interview guides.
• Review board documents and minutes against explicit assessment criteria.
• Analyse evaluation results and rate governance practice consistently.
• Write practical, prioritised recommendations for chairs and boards.
• Establish a system for tracking implementation and reporting progress.

The programme is useful to those who assess, support or report on governance, including:

• Company secretaries and board secretariat staff
• Internal auditors and governance auditors
• Monitoring and evaluation specialists working on institutional performance
• Compliance, risk and corporate affairs officers
• Officials who oversee state corporations and public agencies
• Non-executive directors and committee chairs seeking better evaluation
• NGO and foundation governance advisers
• Cooperative and SACCO board support officers

By the close of the course, each participant will have:

• A governance logic model and indicator framework for a chosen organisation.
• A board evaluation questionnaire and interview guide ready to pilot.
• A scoring rubric for rating governance practice against stated criteria.
• A one-page governance scorecard in a format suited to board packs.
• A recommendation tracker with owners, deadlines and status reporting.
• An evaluation plan with timeline, roles and budget outline.

The approach is practical and uses material from real governance reviews, anonymised for training:

• Instrument design clinics where groups write and test questions
• Document review of sample charters, minutes and board packs
• Role-play of feedback sessions with a chairperson
• Spreadsheet-based scoring and scorecard building
• Peer review of each participant's evaluation plan

Delegates who attend the programme and complete the practical work are issued a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.